Although Los Angeles is located less than 300 miles from Las Vegas, when a crap shooter gets a hankering for some big-time craps action, the short drive or plane ride to Vegas is just too long to wait. Not surprisingly, there are an abundance of accommodating Tinsletown entrepreneurs willing to give these compulsive craps bettors a chance to play the galloping dominoes.

For the hardcore dice degenerate, the opulence and splendor of Vegas casinos offer nothing compared to the no-frills action of the underground crap game, since illegal crap games operate with no betting limits.

The excitement of no-limits craps draws well-heeled stars and moguls out of their cozy Beverly Hills mansions and beach front estates into the seedy Hollywood haunts where they can get the high-rolling fix they need to quench their ever-increasing addiction to big-money thrills.

At any given crap game, teamsters, aspiring actors and dice hustlers sit beside Hollywood's biggest industry players. Each of them vies for the other's bankroll, making and losing fortunes several times over each night. The fever of big dice action knows no class distinction and cares not about the professional nomenclature of showbiz.

Big black cars lurk outside airport hotels and studio lots, looking for players to shuttle to crap games being held in old, seemingly abandoned soundstages on the outskirts of Hollywood.

Before being allowed into the game, players are sent to a small vestibule where they are eyed up through a small window, so the operators can make sure they're not known hustlers, undercover cops or finks.

From there, the gamblers are moved into the frisk room, where all guns and weapons are checked, just like a coat check room. After that, they move into the gaming area.

Just a glance around the room will usually spot big-ticket stars of such notoriety and celebrity that they could never walk down a public street without being mobbed. Any showbiz insider would recognize plenty of studio heads and six-figure screenwriters as well. But, in the world of the clandestine craps game, they are all just bettors, like everyone else. The gamers are interested only in the dice and their bets.

With such brisk business, these local craps operations can make as much money in a week as some of the smaller Vegas casinos. Their overhead is much lower than legit casinos, as operators are not interested in glitz and glamour. Players are there for the raw action, not the fine furnishings.

One downside to these operations is that they are not as strictly regulated, like legit operations in Las Vegas. Although there are plenty of personnel trying to keep everything on the level, it's up to the bettors to watch their own backs. There are plenty of crooked dice, pickpocketing and stick-ups -- not common occurrences in Vegas casinos.

Get the whole story, a six-page in-depth article in the print edition of Barracuda. It includes a handy, at-a-glance guide to craps bets.